Travel cases

ABSTRACT

A lined travel case having a body or lid shell fitted with a pre-formed lining which is retained in position by snap engagement of a continuous edging around the mouth of the lining with a complementary formation around the interior of the mouth of the shell.

1451 July 29, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Kellett TRAVEL CASES 1/1968 Guss 11/1971 [75] Inventor: Richard Edward Kellett,

Manchester, England Toller [73] Assignee: Antler Limited, Bury, England Filed: Feb. 27, 1974 Primary ExaminerHerbert F. Ross Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kemon, Palmer & Estabrook App]. No.: 446,316

[57] ABSTRACT A lined travel case having a body or lid shell fitted with a pre-formed lining which is retained in position [52] US. [51] Int Cl 2 [58] Field of Search 190/53 by snap engagement of a continuous edging around the mouth of the lining with a complementary formation around the interior of the mouth of the shell.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,107,216 2/1938 150/3 12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures result.

TRAVEL CASES This invention relates to lined travel cases.

Lining travel cases'by conventional methods is skilled work and because of the extensive use of adhesive it can be a messy operation which can easily result in spoiled work. Making a neat finish around the mouth of the body and 'lid'is also difficult especially in metal 'framed travel cases with extruded or pressed metal frames where the lid and body meet.

It is an object of the present invention to simplify the operation of'lining a'travel case and to provide a neater It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each having a mouth to its interior and which are hingedly connected together with their mouths towards one another, and at least one of which shells is fitted with a lining of soft material which is of substantially bag form corresponding to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell around which a continuous edging of relatively stiff material is secured, said edging having a formation which is snap-engaged with a complementary formation around the interior of said mouth of said shell thereby to retain said lining in said shell, said shell having a part extending around said mouth thereof outwardly beyond said complementary formation, and said edging having a self-supporting trim projection which extends away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said shell and conceals the joint between said formations. I I

In its manufacture the travelcase can be substantially finished off before the or each lining is fitted, the or each pre-formed lining being made separately. Only a small quantity of adhesive, if any, need be applied to holdthe main part of the lining against the shell. The lining is placed in position and its edging snap-engaged with the complementary formation.

The terms body and lid are used in this specification for convenience but the invention is equally applicable to travel cases in which there aretwo similar body shells both of which can be loaded, and to travel cases, usually made of flexible material in which two shell parts of the body separate to afford anopening for loading the case.

i The edging on the or each lining may be made of plastics, as an extrusion. The complementary formation may be provided as part of a metal frame aroundthe mouth of the shell but is preferably on a separate plastics extrusion secured inside the mouth of the shell. The extrusion may be secured,.for example, by the means ofattachment, such as stitching, of the metal frame or, if the closure of the case" is a sliding clasp fastener, of the webs of the fastener to the shell. Alternatively it may be independently secured such as, for example, by

stitching or adhesive.

Clearly, for snap engagement, either the formation on the edging or the complementary formationmust be resilient but both could be resilient. The provision of the trim projection at the or each shell to hide the joint FIG. 1 is a perspective view in the open condition of a lined travel casein accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lining of the case, and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged fragmentary sections on lines 33,and 4-4 respectively of FIG. 1..

The travel case, as shown in FIG. 1, has a body shell 1 and a lid shell 2 which are hingedly connected together and are each fitted with a preformed lining 3 and 4 respectively. Extruded metal frames 5 and 6 are secured respectively at the mouths of the body shell I and lid shell 2 and mate with one another when the case is closed. A carrying handle 7 is mounted on the body shell 1 and also lockable parts 8 of catches of known form which releasably engage with retaining members 9 of the catches mounted on the lid shell 2.

The frame 5 secured to the lid shell I has, as shown in FIG. 3, a base portion 10 which lies inside the mouth of the body shell. The base portion 10 has on its inner face near the end away from the mouth a shallow semicircular groove 11.

An extrusion 12, of FIG. 3, of polyvinyl chloride or other suitable resilient plastics is secured in the body shell 1. It has along one edge a relatively thick head 13 in which is an undercut channel 14 opening through the front of the head. At the back of the head 13 and extending laterally is a wide, but thin, attachment flange 15. Close and parallel to the attachment flange 15 is a 1 narrow, thicker flange 16 separated from the attachment flange by a deep groove 17 the width of which is equal to the thickness of the base portion 10 of the frame 5. A rib 18 on the narrow flange 16 of semicircular cross-section projects across the groove 17.

Before the frame 5, is secured to the body shell 1, the base portion 10 is inserted into the groove 17 in the plastics extrusion 12 with the attachment flange 15 on the outside of the base portion 10. The base portion is pushed into the groove 17 until the rib 18 snaps into the shallow groove 11, and thus locates the plastics extrusion 12 and holds it captive to the frame 5. The frame 5 is then inserted in the mouth of the body shell 1 which is stitched as indicated at 19 to the frame along a portion .20 of reduced thickness in the base portion 10. The stitching 19 passes through the attachment flange l5 and the extrusion 12 is secured permanently to the body shell.

The lining 3 of the body shell 1 is preformed in a bag shape, FIG. 2, from silk, woven nylon cloth or other suitable soft material, the shape being made suitable to the internal shape of the body shell. To help it to retain its shape a stiffening band 21, for example of thick paper, is attached to the lining 3 around the exterior of a peripheral wallforming portion 22 of the lining. Around the outside of the mouth of the lining 3 is stitched an edging 23 of extruded resilient plastics such as polyvinyl chloride, The edging 23 comprises a rib 24 of bulbous cross-section at the root of which on one side extends a wide attachment flange 25 and on the other side a wide, self-supporting, trim flange 26 inclined with respect to the attachment flange in the direction towards the rib 24. Near the free edge of the attachment flange 25 is a shallow groove 27 and it is along this groove that the lining 3 is stitched, as indicated at 28, to the edging 23.

The undercut channel .14 of the extrusion 12 is complementary tothe bulbous rib 24 of the edging 23. As

the extrusion and edging are both made of resilient plastics material, by forcing the bulbous rib 24 against the opening of the channel 14 it can be snap-engaged with the channel. A root portion 29 of the rib 24 projects out through the opening and the attachment flange 25 and trim flange 26 lie across the face of the head 13 of the extrusion l2 restraining angular movement around the axis of the channel 14. When the rib 24 is snap-engaged with the channel. the free edge of the trim flange 26 bears on the inside face of the base portion of the frame 5. The trim flange 26 extends over the narrow flange 16 of the extrusion and conceals it, and it also covers the stitching 19 along the reduced thickness portion of the base portion, thus hiding the means of securing the frame 5 to the body shell. As the head 13 of the extrusion 12 and the rib 24 are behind the attachment and trim flanges of the edging they are hidden from view as well.

A few small spots only of adhesive, not shown, may hold the main part of the lining against the body shell.

The pre-formed lining 4 of the lid shell 2 is substantially similar to the lining 3 of the body shell 1 and it is secured in the lid shell in a similar manner to the body shell lining. Parts similar to those described with reference to FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals in FIG. 4 which shows how the lining 4 is secured in the lid shell 2. In this instance the base portion 10 of the frame 6 secured to the lid shell has a flange which projects from it slightly across the interior of the lid shell, and an extension 31 on the side of the flange 30 away from the mouth of the lid shell. The shallow semicircular groove 11 is on the inner face of the extension 31.

When the extrusion 12 is fitted to the frame 6, the extension 31 of the frames base portion 10 engages in the deep groove 17 and, as before, the shallow groove 11 is snap-engaged by the rib 18 of the narrow flange 16. The frame flange 30, which projects inwards adjacent to and beyond the narrow flange 16, defines with the head 13 a recess 32 in which the narrow flange is disposed.

lnstead of the wide trim flange 26 of the edging on the body shell lining 3, the edging 23 stitched around the outside of the mouth of the lid shell lining 4 has a somewhat narrower, self-supporting trim flange 33 with a bulbous free edge 34. When the rib 24 of the edging is snapped into engagement with the channel 14 the trim flange 33 extends across the mouth of the recess 32 to the flange 30 and closes it off, the bulbous free edge 34 projecting into the recess. The narrow flange 16 is thus concealed from view and the flange 30 to gether with the trim and attachment flanges of the edging 23 effectively hide the head 13 and rib 24 again.

It will be appreciated that in both shells the extrusion 12 may be adhesively, or otherwise, secured to the shell, and the edging may be adhesively secured to the lining, or secured in any other convenient manner.

It will also be seen that the metal frames of the two shells could, if it is so desired, be modified to take the place of the separate extrusions 12 by providing the base portion 10 of each frame with a formation corresponding to the head of the extrusion which has an undercut channel in it to receive the rib 24 of the edging 23.

I claim:

1. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and which are hingedly connected together with their said mouths towards one another, a pre-formed lining of soft material fitted into one of said shells being of substantially bag form corresponding to the internal shape of said one shell and having a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said one shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to said lining around said mouth thereof. a continuous formation on said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and a complementary continuous formation fixed with respect to said one shell and extending around the interior of said mouth of said one shell, said formation and complementary formation being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one ofthem an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said one shell, a part on said one shell extending around said mouth thereof outwardly beyond said complementary formation, and said edging having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said one shell and conceals said joint.

2. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and which are hingedly connected together with their said mouths towards one another, and in each said shell a pre-formed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and each said shell having fixed with respect thereto a continuous formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell, said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation of each said shell being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being on each said shell a part extending around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation of said shell, and said edging of said lining of each shell having a selfsupporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part on said shell and conceals said joint.

3. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and a rigid frame secured to said shell around said mouth, said shells being hingedly connected together with their mouths and said frames towards one another, and said frame being adapted to mate with one another when said shells are closed together, and in each said shell 21 pre-formed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and said frame of each said shell having a formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell. said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation on each said frame being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being a part of each said frame which extends around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation on said frame, and said edging of said lining of each said shell having a selfsupporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said frame and conceals said joint.

4. A lined travel case according to claim 3 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells extends towards said frame of the other one of said shells and is spaced laterally outwardly from said mouth of said lining of said one shell, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell inclines laterally outwards to said part of said one shell.

5. A lined travel case according to claim 3 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells extends laterally inwards toward said lining of said one shell, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell extends to an inner extremity of said part.

6. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior, a rigid frame secured to said shell around said mouth and a strip member having an attachment portion by which said strip member is secured to said shell inside said mouth of said shell, said shells being hingedly connected together with their mouths and said frames towards one another, and said frames being adapted to mate with one another when said shells are closed together, and in each said shell a preformed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and each said strip member having an integral, continuous formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell, said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation on each said frame being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being a part of each said frame which extends around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation on said strip member, and said edging of said lining of each said shell having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said frame and conceals said joint.

7. A lined travel case according to claim 6 wherein said attachment portion of each said strip member is inserted and secured between said frame and said shell, and each said strip member has a relatively thick head portion which contains said complementary formation and has a projection extending in spaced relationship with said attachment portion, said projection and said attachment portion defining between them a groove, and said frame having a portion which is received into said groove, and said projection being disposed between said head portion and said part of said frame to which said trim projection extends and being concealed by said trim projection.

8. A lined travel case according to claim 7 wherein said projection and said frame portion have interengaging complementary rib and groove formations which locate said strip member with respect to said frame.

9. A lined travel case according to claim 7 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells projects inwardly adjacent to and beyond said projection of said associated strip member in spaced relationship with said head portion, and said part and head portion define between them a recess in which said projection is disposed, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell extends to an inner extremity of said part across said recess and closes off said recess.

10. A lined travel case comprising a pair of hollow shells hingedly connected together, each shell having a base, spaced side and end members forming one-part of said case, each shell having a frame secured thereto, an extrusion secured to the inner surface of each shell and frame, a pre-formed lining of soft material fitted into each shell and being of substantially bag form to conform to the configuration of each shell, a continuous edging secured to the outer surface of said lining, said edging having an outwardly projecting continuous rib provided thereon, said extrusion having a portion complementary to said rib for receiving same and securing said edging and lining to said frame, and said edging terminating in an overlying trim flange for concealing and shielding said rib and extrusion.

11. A lined travel case as defined in claim 10 wherein said lining is provided with a stiffening band of material.

12. A lined travel case as defined in claim 10 wherein said extrusion is formed with a groove for the reception of said frame. 

1. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and which are hingedly connected together with their said mouths towards one another, a pre-formed lining of soft material fitted into one of said shells being of substantially bag form corresponding to the internal shape of said one shell and having a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said one shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to said lining around said mouth thereof, a continuous formation on said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and a complementary continuous formation fixed with respect to said one shell and extending around the interior of said mouth of said one shell, said formation and complementary formation being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joInt between said formations which retains said lining in said one shell, a part on said one shell extending around said mouth thereof outwardly beyond said complementary formation, and said edging having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said one shell and conceals said joint.
 2. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and which are hingedly connected together with their said mouths towards one another, and in each said shell a pre-formed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and each said shell having fixed with respect thereto a continuous formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell, said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation of each said shell being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being on each said shell a part extending around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation of said shell, and said edging of said lining of each shell having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part on said shell and conceals said joint.
 3. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior and a rigid frame secured to said shell around said mouth, said shells being hingedly connected together with their mouths and said frames towards one another, and said frame being adapted to mate with one another when said shells are closed together, and in each said shell a pre-formed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and said frame of each said shell having a formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell, said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation on each said frame being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being a part of each said frame which extends around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation on said frame, and said edging of said lining of each said shell having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said frame and conceals said joint.
 4. A lined travel case according to claim 3 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells extends towards said frame of the other one of said shells and is spaced laterally outwardly from said mouth of said lining of said one shell, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell inclines laterally outwards to said part of said one shell.
 5. A lined travel case according to claim 3 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells extends laterally inwards toward said lining of said one shell, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell extends to an inner extremity of said part.
 6. A lined travel case comprising two hollow shells each of which has a mouth to its interior, a rigid frame secured to said shell around said mouth and a strip member having an attachment portion by which said strip member is secured to said shell inside said mouth of said shell, said shells being hingedly connected together with their mouths and said frames towards one another, and said frames being adapted to mate with one another when said shells are closed together, and in each said shell a preformed lining of soft material of substantially bag form which corresponds to the internal shape of said shell and has a mouth of corresponding shape to said mouth of said shell, a continuous edging of relatively stiff material secured to each said lining around said mouth thereof, and a continuous formation on each said edging which extends along said edging externally of said mouth of said lining, and each said strip member having an integral, continuous formation which is complementary to said formation of said edging and extends around the interior of said mouth of said shell, said formation of each said edging and said complementary formation on each said frame being adapted for resilient interconnection and comprising in respect of one of them an undercut channel having a longitudinally extending opening thereinto and in respect of the other a projection having an enlarged portion which is wider than said opening and engages with snap-action in said channel through said opening, thereby providing a joint between said formations which retains said lining in said shell, there being a part of each said frame which extends around said mouth of said shell outwardly beyond said complementary formation on said strip member, and said edging of said lining of each said shell having a self-supporting trim projection which extends outwardly away from said mouth of said lining to said part of said frame and conceals said joint.
 7. A lined travel case according to claim 6 wherein said attachment portion of each said strip member is inserted and secured between said frame and said shell, and each said strip member has a relatively thick head portion which contains said complementary formation and has a projection extending in spaced relationship with said attachment portion, said projection and said attachment portion defining between them a groove, and said frame having a portion which is received into said groove, and said projection being disposed between said head portion and said part of said frame to which said trim projection extends and being concealed by said trim projection.
 8. A lined travel case according to claim 7 wherein said projection and said frame portion have interengaging complementary rib and groove formations which locate said strip member with respect to said frame.
 9. A lined travel case according to claim 7 wherein said part of said frame of one of said shells projects inwardly adjacent to and beyond said projection of said associated strip member in spaced relationship with said head portion, and said part and head portion define between them a recess in which said projection is disposed, and said trim projection of said edging of said lining of said one shell extends to an inner extremity of said part across said recess and closes off said recess.
 10. A lined travel case comprising a pair of hollow shells hingedly connected together, each shell having a base, spaced side and end members forming one-part of said case, each shell having a frame secured thereto, an extrusion secured to the inner surface of each shell and frame, a pre-formed lining Of soft material fitted into each shell and being of substantially bag form to conform to the configuration of each shell, a continuous edging secured to the outer surface of said lining, said edging having an outwardly projecting continuous rib provided thereon, said extrusion having a portion complementary to said rib for receiving same and securing said edging and lining to said frame, and said edging terminating in an overlying trim flange for concealing and shielding said rib and extrusion.
 11. A lined travel case as defined in claim 10 wherein said lining is provided with a stiffening band of material.
 12. A lined travel case as defined in claim 10 wherein said extrusion is formed with a groove for the reception of said frame. 